If your company isn’t creating the culture it aspires to, the culture will create itself, and it’s likely not going to be too healthy.
What is your organization doing to improve its culture?
— Karen Snyder
For more of Karen’s workplace wisdom, check out her book Eating Worms: Practicing Leadership Every Day.
Recently, I read with joy this article about how one surgeon’s passion created so much joy. It reminded me of the sheer joy that comes from feeling passionately connected to your work and finding meaningful ways to express that passion. And that passion has the ripple effect of igniting others, along with improving both performance and workplace culture!
Passionate individuals can’t help but push their limits, striving for excellence in every task they undertake. So what should leaders do to make sure this passion and positivity are encouraged in the workplace? When leaders prioritize creating an environment that fosters passion, they remove layers of bureaucracy and ensure that employees are not burdened by excessive rules.
Passion isn’t a one-way street, though. It’s a symbiotic relationship between individuals and their work environment. When leaders value and nurture passion, it becomes contagious. Colleagues feed off each other’s enthusiasm, inspiring a collective desire to achieve greatness. The performance bar is raised, and everyone benefits from the positive domino effect.
When you are passionate about your work, you create a contagious energy that leaves a lasting impact on those around you. Likewise, it’s important to surround yourself with a supportive workplace culture that encourages and nourishes that passion.
Perhaps you aren’t in a position to make art on children’s casts like the surgeon in the article, but what can you do to spread your passion at work? I am currently working on a program called “Leaving a Legacy,” which encourages participants to consider how they want to live both their work and personal lives.
In order to create a respectful and inclusive culture, organizations need to provide regular diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training. But once you have had that basic training, how can you mix it up and make it relevant year after year?
At Concordia Consulting, we have found a way! We have adapted actual situations that we have been asked to remedy by changing them just enough to protect those involved. Then we implement the scenarios using a case-study approach to bring our training to life.
Want to try one?
You are on a business trip to watch and support your boss who is testifying. The hearing is running late and there is a chance you will both miss your flight home. You brought your luggage with you, but your boss did not. She asks if you can please go to her hotel room just one block away to pack her belongings and bring them to her at the hearing room, so that neither of you will miss the flight. Once at the hotel, you are in a position where you need to handle her medications, cosmetics, and underwear.
Questions:
- What do you do in the moment?
- After the trip, is there anything you could or should do?
- If you are the HR director in this organization and you are told about the situation, what should you do?
Have you ever witnessed a similar situation in the workplace? Please let me know how you would deal with this scenario, as well as how effectively you think your organization might handle it. We will be sharing similar experiences in the months to come. If you would like facilitated training with us, we will customize a program specifically for your organization’s circumstances and culture.
